Aquitanian Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht ("Armed Forces", Literally "Defence Force") are the imperial armed forces of the Aquitanian Empire. Created in 2809 as the legal successor of the Reichswehr, which had collapsed in 2527 during the First Schism. The Wehrmacht is one of the most technologically advanced armies in the world, protecting a state where advanced and traditional militarism has been at the works for nearly 2000 years. In the year 3230, the army had a total of 700,000 personnel, with an additional 300,000 reserves. In contrast to other countries, the Kingdoms of Prussia, Ludonnia, Vladien, Wulffbain and the Principality of Savoy, all Federal States of the Empire; have their own Armed Forces; these institutions are only symbolic though, as each Armed Force is under the Jurisdiction of the Kaiser and the Wehrmacht Offices in Königsberg's Reichskanzlei, the States are considered Military Districts. The Wehrmacht is charged with the protection of Aquitania's territorial integrity and the empire's interests abroad, it also provides assistance in disasters, although that function befalls solely on the National Guard. It is composed by the Reichsheer (Army), the Kriegsmarine (Navy) and the Luftwaffe (Airforce), the strongest component. 'History' The Wehrmacht is the legal successor to the Reichswehr, the Imperial Armed Forces of the First Aquitanian Empire, formed in 1760, in turn replacing the Bundeswehr that operated in the Empire during times of war. Before the formation of the Reichswehr, each Kingdom operated its own armed forces, which were pooled to form the Bundeswehr during times of war. Following several ineffiencies with the Bundeswehr (including catastrophic mobilisations which took very long periods of time), namely the disasters of 1680 and 1718, when the Calzadors invaded Constantine and then attacked neighbouring Yutschenia respectively. Aquitania was unable to halt the enemy in both instances because of poor mobilisation and logistical maneouvres from fellow states, obstacles mainly being the place of pooling and who would lead what. The last conflicts the Bundeswehr fought successfully in were the Wars of Expansion from 1740 to 1759, which saw the defeat of Mirellia a year before it was dissolved in 1760 in favour of the Prussian Lead Rechswehr system. The Reichswehr was the most powerful standing army in the world from 1863 to 1928 after it was defeated in the Great Five Years War. Afterwards, the Reichswehr, still a formidable force, was dedicated to the protection of the Colonial Aquitanian Empire and the Mainland, in a peaceful period referred to as the Sleeping Years until 2178. In 2030, the Reichswehr's Kriegsmarine expanded to space as one of the first armies in the Centaudos system to do so, creating the Outer Navy, or Ausskriegsmarine. ONI was responsible for this new sub-branch's technological developments and in 2375 made its most famous breakthrough; Faster Than Light (FTL) Travel or Slipspace Travel, which was immediately implemented for military use on ships, making very large distances a short portal leap away. The Arcadia Incident of 2389, which claimed the life of Norbert von Helzig, ''lead scientist and discoverer, limited ONI's Slipspace Programme exclusively to Military Sectors and later, in 2404, was officially made available to highly supervised and restricted companies that used it for mass interplanetary passenger and cargo travel, full civilian access to the technology, was from 2389, on restricted. In 2178, a fleet of the Ausskriegsmarine was engaged by enemy vessels, the confrontation was exploited by ONI Researchers wishing to expand or make existing space weapons better. The engagement ended in a standstill and eventual withdrawal of both sides. The 4 hour conflict would later be the basis for further development of Shielding, Hull Composition and Weapons Systems of ships used in space. The Reichswehr was eventually dissolved in the year 2527, after 60 years of civil war and the splintering of the army rendered the system useless, it continued to serve the Imperial faction as a Provisional Force headed by the Imperial Black Guards. 'Service Branches' The Wehrmacht is divided into three Service Branches, the Luftwaffe, Reichsheer and the Kriegsmarine. The Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine branches are themselves divided into two more Sub-Branches, the Aussluftwaffe and the Ausskriegsmarine, respectively, which operate above the 100km line over the surface of the earth or in the planetary Exosphere, Thermosphere and beyond. 'Reichsheer' The Reichsheer is the land component of the Wehrmacht, it is also considered its backbone eventhough it is the smallest service branch in the army. Currently, it is composed by four divisions, made up of Missile-Artillery divisions and mechanised infantry. All of the divisions of the Imperial Army are in the homeland and are distributed strategically; Two Missile divisions in the Duchy of East Prussia, a mechanised division in recently incorporated Kaledonnia and another in the Eastern Seaboard south of New Alexandria, considered a military hub. Beyond these, logistical and supply units also form part of the Reichsheer, but are not considered divisions by the Wehrmacht Council (''Wehrmachtrat). The Reichsheer may assist the National Guard (Nationalgarde) in the event of disaster, but each respective branch rarely intervene with the other unless in matters of extreme emergency. The Imperial Aquitanian Government has been reducing the operations and size of the Reichsheer in favour of the Luftwaffe. 'Luftwaffe' The Luftwaffe is the Airforce of the Empire, it is the largest branch in the Wehrmacht and has been the Imperial Government's focus of investment and growth before and since the War of 3171. The Luftwaffe is compromised of over 50 Defence Wings and 5 Bombing Wings and have seen service in over five recent conflicts abroad, making it the most experienced Service Branch in the Armed Forces. The Luftwaffe is a formidable force and is one of the most technologically advanced in the continent, with a shining combat record and fighting level. Prior to the War of 3171, the Airforce was deployed in over 5 allied countries world wide and were involved in defensive operations abroad jointly with Union Members. The East Heaven Wars of 3170 and 3183 took a heavy toll on the Airforce, the 3171 nuking of Veluca and national strategic bases destroyed nearly six wings and damaged a lot more. The Luftwaffe had to be put under a rigorous reconstruction project that struggled with the economic fallout of the collapse of several Union Members and the recession in the beginning of the 33rd Century. Most of the Airforce is based at the Arzeal Luftwaffe Base, Prussia; 150 kilometres east from the city of Brandenburg in the middle of the Arzeal National Park, one of the largest boreal forests in Aquitania. Its location is strategically close to the Helggen-Brandenburg International Airport and Spaceport, the air and space transport hub of the country. The Aussluftwaffe is based in Geostationary Orbit, 35,786km above the Arzeal base, it was built after Gravitational Breakthroughs allowed Geostationary Complexes to be built in places other than the planet's Equator in 2445. The Aussluftwaffe is also stationed within capital ships in orbit to assist the Kriegsmarine fighter force. Plans to build a Space Tether and Elevator for the Arzeal Bases are underway and will begin construction in 3240 to finish in 3265. 'Kriegsmarine' The Aquitanian Navy is considered the main line of defence against any force, it has been the most important branch for millennia and was one of the first military components to emerge with the founding of the Aquitanii Imperium, well before contemporary land armies. Aquitania's location makes a Naval Force key to its defence and the eventual medium for it to eventually protect and enforce the Empire's interests abroad. Within the Navy, the Aussweltmarine, or Orbital and Outerspace component is the strongest, as it can function in both environments, in and out of atmosphere with speed and precision. The units compromising the inner navy have nearly become obsolete, except for the Coast Guard and a considerable amount of destroyers. The Prussian Base in the mouth of the Preutter River in the Straits and Bay of Preutter. The current outer navy is made up of 245 ships, of which 15 are Capital Ships, or CSC-Supercruisers, 150 are SClass-Battlecruisers and 80 are NEClass-Destroyers. The Outernavy is made up of three fleets, the Home Fleet, the Supplementary Fleet and the Exploratory Fleet, the latter is used for protected scientific research in space or, as the name suggests, to explore. The Kriegsmarine has its own Airforce, mainly operating in the Aussweltmarine, which regularly cooperates with the Luftwaffe's Outer units in Military Drills and provides hangars for 70% of the Aussluftwaffe's fighters. The Outernavy is made up of two large fleets and one mid-sized group, which serves as the exploratory fleet. All Aquitanian ships, outer and inner, must fly the Naval Ensign, which is also used as a War Flag on land; the flag is a sign of Aquitanian Imperialism and eventhough popular and honoured at home, many former colonies, like Belka and neighbouring nations; namely Yutschenia, Constantine and Mirellia are offended by the flag. 'Conscription' Conscription has been present in the Aquitanian army for millennia, having been established individually by each sovereign state in the Nordlanderbund prior to Unification in 1500 and the foundation of the Reichswehr in 1760. Prussia is the state with the oldest Conscription system in the region, having established it in the year 489 and perfected it by 517. Subsequently, the other states adopted the Prussian Conscription System: From earliest to the latest: Vladien 520, Wulffbain 522, Arlathan 523 and Ludonnia in 525. Conscription was removed in 1927 following defeat in the Great Five Years War and later reinstated in 2466 as the situation prior to the Great Schism escalated violently. Following the dissolving of the Reichswehr, conscription was not adopted until 2849 by the Wehrmacht, following a crisis that culminated in armed conflict. Today, it is the most effective method of raising troops in times of need, and the Aquitanian society, both men and women, highly appreciative of discipline, consider the 12 month compulsory service as the start of their responsible and independent lives. Age & Requirements Aquitanians are called at age 18, the age when they attain the right to vote, but in the past, especially in the early days of the system, boys as young as 14 could be called to service or war. The minimum compulsory age was later changed when the Bundeswehr was created to 16 and it remained so until the Reichswehr established age 18 as the minimum age in 1929 and also allowed women to serve for the first time, following the Great Five Years War, where 55,000 teenagers were killed in the fronts. The Wehrmacht establishes that no man or woman younger than 18 may serve around weapons or hard labour drills, youth serving in lesser, community and ceremonial activities though is popular in the Wehrmacht's Youth Assembly, where boys and girls age 12 and up are accepted. These children are usually trained early and if they continue with their military career after reaching the age of majority, they are usually given higher ranks than their novice counterparts or are trained to belong in the Imperial Black Guard or the Special Operations Division. Healthy men and women are called upon, and some physically disabled civilians are summoned to help the logistics, or strategic planning sectors of the military, the Cyber Defence and Offence division is an example. No other restrictions, other than a sketchy crime record can inhibit any Aquitanian from being called upon or serving later voluntarily. 'Conflicts & Deployments' The Wehrmacht has been involved in several conflicts in history, and has also made deployments abroad amounting to a considerable number of forces to enforce treaties, alliances and Aquitania's interests. The Wehrmacht today has 15,000 Aussweltmarine troops deployed for drills and other operations to uphold the Orbital Security & Cooperation Treaty signed with the Imperial Union of Gaia in the year 3142 in the face of Orbital Airspace Breaches. Deployments to allies of Luftwaffe Wings ended after the 3170 War in East Heaven. Category:Aquitania Category:Militaries